It was late at night again. Tang Zhong drove the carriage, glancing back at the young Daoist priest sleeping against it, worry gnawing silently at him.
Tang Zhong was the Tang Household's old steward, fifty-seven years old this year. He had worked for the household since childhood, toiling his whole life without complaint, and had raised Tang Jie himself.
But today, he felt there was something wrong with his master's intelligence. Some Daoist priest had casually shown up, casually said a few words, and his master had arranged for every worker in the household to go with him.
They were supposedly going to Listening Wind Stronghold to haul back the stolen grain...
As if it could be that easy!
He had heard the name Divine Lord in the Mortal World himself, but as the steward, he still thought his master had been rather hasty.
Could a little Daoist priest who had barely grown his hair really manage it?
Ancient times were unlike modern times, when far too many people distrusted one another.
In ancient times, a good reputation really could accomplish a great deal.
For instance, in Water Margin and Romance of the Sui and Tang, renowned martial heroes and brave men of the jianghu could indeed win many people's unconditional trust simply by announcing their names.
Take Qin Qiong, the Little Mengchang of Romance of the Sui and Tang, or Wu Song and Song Jiang from Water Margin. When they fell on hard times, they only had to give their names, and many people would offer them money with both hands.
Whether it was innocence or kindness.
Zhang Qingyuan was very glad he had the reputation of being the Divine Lord in the Mortal World in Tangshan County. Otherwise, persuading Tang Jie really would not have been so easy.
The journey was over a hundred li, more than a day's travel even by carriage.
When they reached a spot ten li from Whistle Mountain, Tang Zhong stopped the carriage.
"Daoist Priest Qingyuan, this is as far as we can take you. Any farther, and you'll be on Listening Wind Stronghold's territory."
Zhang Qingyuan nodded. "Wait here for me."
"May you depart in peace."
Tang Zhong bowed as he spoke.
Zhang Qingyuan froze and gave him a startled look. Why did this old man's words hit so hard?
Without dwelling on it, Zhang Qingyuan carried his sword straight toward Listening Wind Stronghold without looking back.
He followed the narrow path and gradually made his way into Whistle Mountain.
He had barely taken a few steps into the mountain when he heard voices ahead.
Pushing off the ground, he used Ascending the Clouds and sprang onto a branch four or five zhang above the ground.
Looking toward the voices, he saw three people up ahead.
Two men in black flanked a wealthy young master.
The young master wore cloud-patterned silk brocade robes, his lips slightly parted and his features handsome. As his folding fan swayed, it could not conceal his noble bearing and dashing charm.
The two men beside him wore close-fitting black outfits and walked with light steps, swords in hand, guarding the young master on either side.
The young master was only around twenty. Though his noble air was unmistakable, his mouth was full of foul language, completely at odds with his bearing.
"Damn it, I wondered how a mountain stronghold like this dared rob just anyone. Turns out they have backing.
"Old Five, you fucking call yourself an expert. Why didn't you make a move back there?"
The man on his left hurriedly bowed. "Young master, there are many experts in the stronghold. The two of us aren't afraid of them, but your person is worth ten thousand gold. I feared we wouldn't be able to look after you if a fight broke out.
"If they injured you, we could never escape the blame."
Both men breathed evenly. The one speaking was a lean, muscular man, while the one on the right was rather aloof.
The young master glanced at Old Five and said angrily, "Once I get home, I'll send people to wipe out those thieving dogs."
No sooner had he spoken than he added, "No, I can't wait that long. Old Seven, go up the mountain tonight. Don't leave a single one alive!"
The man on the right merely answered flatly, "Yes."
"Damn it, I only brought that little bit of money when I left home. That little bit of money! Two cartloads of grain, and those heaven-damned bandits robbed them before they even reached the disaster victims.
"This is all your fault, Old Five. What kind of rotten idea was that? I said I wanted to escort it myself, but you insisted on hiring some escort agency. Otherwise, this never would have happened!"
"Yes, yes, yes. You're right to reprimand me, young master."
Listening to their conversation, Zhang Qingyuan felt rather puzzled.
He could tell just by sensing them that the two men beside the young master were no weaker than he was.
Yet they were so careful with this young master. Just who was he?
As he pondered this, Old Five and Old Seven below suddenly stopped, shielding the young master between them, one in front and one behind.
"What's wrong?"
The wealthy young master, who had been chattering nonstop, looked puzzled and said impatiently, "What is it now?"
The two men scanned their surroundings, and Old Five spoke. "Whoever you are, please show yourself. Stop skulking about."
They found me?
Zhang Qingyuan was startled too. He had held his breath and concealed himself so well, yet they had still discovered him. That showed how formidable their martial arts were.
He leaped down to the ground. At the sight of Zhang Qingyuan, both men immediately drew their swords.
The wealthy young master stared blankly at Zhang Qingyuan on the ground, then raised his head and scanned the heights, trying to see whether anyone else was there.
After searching for some time without finding anything, he rested his hands on the two men's shoulders and addressed Zhang Qingyuan fearlessly. "Hey, little Daoist priest, where did you come from? Why are you blocking our way?"
His tone was flippant, begging for a beating even more than Zhang Qingyuan's own.
Huh?
Why did I think of myself?
Old Five and Old Seven held their swords and watched Zhang Qingyuan warily, their eyes full of killing intent.
Zhang Qingyuan curled his lip. "Let's get this straight first. I wasn't deliberately trying to stop you. I came to recover some grain. When I heard you cursing at nobody in particular, I thought you were from the stronghold, so I hid."
"Recover grain?" The wealthy young master looked even more puzzled. "They even rob temples of their grain?"
Zhang Qingyuan glanced at him. What the fuck kind of thinking is that?
"They didn't rob me. They robbed a Confucian merchant."
"What does robbing a Confucian merchant have to do with you?"
"I came to help him take it back. Disaster victims are everywhere, and we finally have a Confucian merchant selling grain at fair prices. He poured his entire fortune into this grain, only for these mountain bandits to rob it before it even reached his home. What do you think?"
The young master looked Zhang Qingyuan up and down and said in surprise, "You? Can you manage it?"
Who are you looking down on? Zhang Qingyuan said calmly, "Why couldn't I?"
"Let me tell you, these mountain bandits have backing. Otherwise, we would have wiped them out just now." The wealthy young master pointed behind him.
His tone was wildly arrogant and brimming with confidence.
But looking at his two guards, Zhang Qingyuan did not think he was boasting.
Their earlier conversation had made it clear that his two guards were not incapable of killing these mountain bandits. They were afraid something might happen to the young master.
At that thought, Zhang Qingyuan asked, "Do you know who's behind them?"
He sighed. "I only just found out myself. The Dragon Gate is backing these bandits. Have you heard of the Dragon Gate?"
Zhang Qingyuan nodded. "I've heard a little."
The Dragon Gate was a jianghu gang. Its leader, the Dragon King, was reputed to be a Grandmaster and enjoyed considerable renown in the martial world, his martial arts fierce and overbearing.
The young master said angrily, "The Dragon Gate is profiteering from the nation's calamity. Those heaven-damned bastards are using their influence to gather bandits large and small throughout Kaifeng, rob grain carts, and then sell the grain to merchants at high prices.
"Listening Wind Stronghold is the largest bandit stronghold nearby. The Dragon Lord, the Dragon Gate's third-in-command, is there right now with a group of their experts. The Dragon Lord's martial arts are no small matter. Though he's below a Grandmaster, his external body-tempering skills are formidable.
"They robbed two cartloads of my grain too. I went in to demand them back, but they actually refused to hand them over. Damn it, there are three hundred bandits inside, plus a dozen or so Dragon Gate experts. They're hard to deal with."
Hearing this, Zhang Qingyuan's expression inevitably grew grave.
Though he was usually rather full of himself, he still had some self-awareness when it truly mattered.
If it were only bandits, there would be nothing to fear. They were merely a disorderly rabble.
But with Dragon Gate experts among them, he would probably be outmatched.
Why did martial experts dare not face armies? Because once there were enough people, human-wave tactics could wear you to death when their numbers reached a certain point, however formidable your martial arts.
Armies also had battle formations, making them even harder to oppose.
Bandits certainly could not compare to an army, but once there were enough of them, they could exhaust you to death.
And now, not only was the stronghold full of men, it also had those Dragon Gate experts.
Seeing Zhang Qingyuan's tightly knitted brows, the young master sneered, "Still dare to boast now?"
Zhang Qingyuan smiled and turned his gaze toward the young master, who understood instantly.
"You're not asking me to help, are you?"
"Don't you want to take back your two cartloads of grain?"
"I might not be a match for them on my own, but with those two guards of yours, it should be enough."
"No. We cannot leave the young master's side," Old Five said at once.
The young master looked at Zhang Qingyuan and asked in return, "Would one be enough?"
Zhang Qingyuan looked at Old Seven...